


Hale's Home for Wanted Witches

by undermoonlitstars



Series: Sterek Week 2018 [6]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Historical, Gen, Pre-Slash, Sterek Week 2018, sterekwitchhunt, well-kind of but not really
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-01
Updated: 2018-11-01
Packaged: 2019-08-14 08:47:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16489415
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/undermoonlitstars/pseuds/undermoonlitstars
Summary: Laura and Derek run a boarding house for supernaturals accused of being 'witches'. Of course Stiles winds up there.





	Hale's Home for Wanted Witches

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Teen Wolf is not mine. 
> 
> This is kind of a historical au. Well it IS, but there's not really much there to indicate that.

Stiles let out a strangled sound of relief when he caught sight of the boarding house through the trees. 

_Thank all the gods._

He picked up his pace, though it was a poor idea: the last week or so of constant rain had turned the ground into a mudslide. 

Stiles hardly cared. He’d been travelling through said rain for longer than that, and was exhausted, and willing to sacrifice almost anything to get a hot meal and a warm bath. On the scale of things he had left, his dignity wasn’t all that important.

Reaching the door at last, he banged on it till it crashed and rattled on its hinges. 

He almost felt bad at probably waking the whole house, but he’d been on the run for weeks, and this was his last hope. 

The door swung open, and Stiles would have ended up hitting the man in the face if he hadn’t caught Stiles’s wrist in time. 

Which Stiles was entirely grateful for, it would have been a crying shame to ruin that beautiful face. 

Momentarily stupefied, Stiles trailed his eyes down the rest of the man’s body, and noticed he was only wearing hastily drawn on breeches. Guilt slithered into his conscious mind again, so he dragged his eyes back up to his face. 

The man was frowning down at him, seemingly unconcerned at the rain he was letting in by holding Stiles in the doorway, until Stiles opened his mouth to ask if he was one of the Hales, and the man used his grip on Stiles’s wrist to haul him inside and slam the door behind him. 

He let go of Stiles, finally, and Stiles noticed the woman sat on the steps behind him. 

‘Are you the Hales?’ 

It was the woman who answered. 

‘We are. I’m Laura, this is my brother, Derek,’ she motioned towards the man Stiles had mentally dubbed ‘eyebrows’ and turned to lead him into the house. ‘I’m assuming you need a room?’ 

He stammered and nodded, but he was to weary to be much more coherent. 

‘We can put you up. Though, if you don’t mind, who told you about this place?’ 

Her gaze was curious, and more hazel than the pretty green Derek sported, though no less powerful. She must be the alpha. ‘There was a woman, in the village, Melissa?’ 

‘Hmm.’ She gave no other response than to lead him through the house to his room, and tell him when to be down for breakfast in the morning. 

Left to his own devices, Stiles gladly collapsed into sleep. 

Upon arriving in the dining hall the next morning, Stiles learned there were just under twenty guests at the boarding house. He sits down with his food and watches them milling about, trying to figure out if any others are actually magical. 

While the witch hunters may have been accurate in their decision to target him, he knows that there are a lot of people killed who aren’t even close to being witches. 

He scanned the room for another glimpse of Derek, but is saved the effort of finding him when both the Hales slide into seats across from him. He raises an eyebrow and starts on his food, trying to pretend he wasn’t being nosy, and waits to hear what they want. 

‘So, are you actually a witch, or a something else?’ _Wow, looks like Laura’s a regular ice breaker all on her own._ Stiles had met few people as blunt about their… otherness. 

‘What if I was just a regular person who had no idea what you’re talking about?’ 

‘Please, you said Melissa sent you. She wouldn’t have if she didn’t know that you’re aware of the supernatural. Everyone staying here is running from witch hunters, so you must be a something.’ 

She settled smugly over her breakfast, and Stiles looked at the other patrons again. ‘Everyone?’ 

She nods. 

‘I… don’t really know. I have a spark, whatever that means. But they found me, so here I am,’ he shrugged and looks around again. ‘What are they if not witches?’ 

Derek growls, but Laura speaks over him. ‘Well, some of the witch hunters are just your regular fanatics, entirely ignorant of any real supernatural thing. But some of them are hunters, taking advantage of it. They don’t care that we’re not witches, exactly, but they’ll use it as a cover to get rid of any of us,’ her tone had softened some as she gestured towards herself and her brother. ‘We’re werewolves, so were our whole family, some of them are also wolves, some are other shapeshifters, at least one of them’s a kitsune. We get all sorts. Anyone who’s been accused, is perfectly safe here. You can stay as long as you need.’ 

‘Thanks.’ He spends the rest of his meal listening to Laura chatter, Derek offers nothing, just sits and glares at Stiles, which he ignores. 

It’s still hard for him to believe a place like this exists. A week ago he had nothing left and nowhere to go, and now he’s in this safe house, with people who are in the same boat as him. It was nice not to have to worry about hiding all the time. 

As Stiles’s first days in the Hale house pass, he takes to shadowing Derek, watching as he helps Laura run the place. Stiles figured Derek was perfectly capable of telling him if his company wasn’t wanted, so he assumes Derek’s silence is a tacit acceptance of it. 

Sometimes they sit in the library, which is small, relying mostly on donations from the locals, Stiles chattering to a mostly silent Derek. 

Derek rarely talks, but sometimes Stiles will catch expressions on his face that can only be a reaction to something he’s said. Sometimes he almost looks happy. 

Stiles begins to think less about all things he’s running from, and begins to plan for a future. He thinks maybe it’s a little premature, to be thinking about his future being here, but he likes this place, and he likes the idea behind it, the idea of helping people when they need it. Sometimes he catches Derek smiling. Sometimes he smiles back. 

**Author's Note:**

> I still don't even really know what this was, but the tenses were all over the place in the first draft, and they still might be, for which I apologise.


End file.
